Department for Education

Schools: Defibrillators

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 23 January (HL4931), which schools have purchased an automated external defibrillator under the new arrangements agreed between the Department for Education and the Department of Health.

Lord Nash: As of Thursday 26 February 2015, confirmed orders had been placed for a total of 266 automated external defibrillators (AEDs). The list of schools provided by NHS Supply Chain can be found in the attached table.   The Department for Education’s advice on installing and maintaining AEDs on school premises, which has been published to help schools in considering whether to purchase these potentially life-saving devices, is available online at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/automated-external-defibrillators-aeds-in-schools 



Table showing sales of defibrillators to schools
(Excel SpreadSheet, 54.5 KB)

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

Lord Northbourne: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is their intention that the (currently non-statutory) syllabus in secondary schools relating to the subject described as "sex and relationship education" should include learning about non-sexual relationships such as the relationship between a mother and her child, or the relationship between siblings, or relationships in the workplace with colleagues or customers.

Lord Nash: Personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education is a non-statutory subject that can encompass many areas of study, including the importance of healthy relationships and how to identify those relationships which are unhealthy. This applies to all the relationships that young people have with their friends, peers and families. PSHE may also include pupils being taught about the workplace and how to develop the essential skills of teamwork and communication.   Sex and relationships education (SRE) is an important part of PSHE and is compulsory in maintained secondary schools. When teaching SRE all schools must have regard to the Secretary of State’s statutory sex and relationships guidance, which makes it clear that teaching should include the importance of loving and stable relationships and the importance of family life.

Extracurricular Activities

Lord Northbourne: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which extra-curricular activities offered by secondary schools they consider most likely to develop the spiritual, moral, social and cultural values of pupils; and what steps they are taking to encourage and support secondary schools to provide such activities.

Lord Nash: Extra-curricular activities can form an important part of a pupil’s education. When activities are structured and organised effectively, they can provide young people with stimulating experiences which build on the knowledge and understanding they gain through lessons; as well as supporting their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Schools have been given greater freedom over their curriculum, so that they can plan their teaching to meet the needs of their pupils. This includes deciding which extra-curricular activities to provide.The Department for Education is allocating £5 million to expand capacity in character education, build evidence of what works and deliver a national awards scheme to recognise existing excellence.

Schools: Uniforms

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to subsidising school uniforms for school pupils eligible for free school meals.

Lord Nash: The Department for Education has issued guidance for all schools on the need to give high priority to cost considerations when setting their uniform. The guidance emphasises the importance of ensuring that the uniform is widely available and affordable for all parents.   Local authorities and academies have discretion within their budgets to provide school clothing grants or offer other help with the cost of school clothing in cases of financial hardship. We also encourage individual schools to consider running their own schemes to provide assistance.   The school uniform guidance is published online at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Pesticides

The Earl of Caithness: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the conclusions of the Anderson Farm Consultants report The Effect of the Loss of Plant Protection Products on UK Agriculture and Horticulture and the Wider Economy, published in October 2014; and what are their reasons for any disagreement with those conclusions.

Lord De Mauley: This report was commissioned by the Agricultural Industries Confederation, the Crop Protection Association and the National Farmers Union. It concludes that 40 pesticide active substances are likely to be lost or restricted under European Union (EU) legislation between now and 2020. A further 47 active substances could be threatened. Consequent crop yield losses are likely to lead to substantial loss of profits and jobs across the farming and food sectors.   The report concludes that policies in this area should be science-led and based on a realistic and proportionate assessment of risk.   The Government has not carried out a detailed assessment of the analysis set out in the Andersons Centre report. However, we would support the central conclusions that current EU pesticide rules will reduce the range of available products. We also agree that decisions on pesticide approval should be proportionate and be taken on the basis of a scientific assessment of risk. Parts of the EU regime for the approval of pesticides do not currently work in this way.   The EU Regulation on the approval of pesticides includes a review clause. UK Ministers are pressing the Commission to make sure that the review is carried out thoroughly and takes full account of costs and benefits of regulation.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Democratic Republic of Congo

Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in relation to the alleged human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, committed by national forces during Operation Likofi.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Officials have raised the issue of human rights violations during Operation Likofi with senior members of the Congolese government on a number of occasions since late 2013. This includes meetings with the Minister of Interior, his successor, the Vice Prime Minister for Interior and Security and the Chief of the National Police. In these meetings we called for a robust investigation into the allegations. As such an investigation had not started, the Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Ms Greening), took the decision in February to terminate their Security Sector Accountability and Police Reform programme, and informed the Congolese government accordingly.

Eritrea

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the statement by His Excellency Mr Girma Asmerom, Permanent Representative of Eritrea to the United Nations, on agenda item 68 (b,c): Promotion and Protection of Human Rights during the Interactive Dialogue of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Eritrea at the Third Committee of the 69th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We remain concerned about the human rights situation in Eritrea, including shortcomings in the rule of law, reports of arbitrary detention, and limits on the freedom of speech. We have made clear to the Eritrean government that they should invite the Special Rapporteur to the country and engage constructively with the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea.We have also asked Eritrea to clarify its plans to implement the recommendations of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism, the importance of which the Eritrean Permanent Representative highlighted in his statement.

South Sudan

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the reported abduction of South Sudanese school children, while sitting their exams in Malakal; and what estimate they have made of the number of children who have been co-opted into militias in South Sudan.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Both the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Mission in South Sudan have confirmed that over 15/16 February 2015 a number of school children were abducted near Malakal in Upper Nile State. While there are no accurate figures, data from the school registers suggest at least 89 boys were abducted. According to UNICEF some 12,000 children are reported as being used by armed forces and other affiliated militia groups.

Sudan

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the United Kingdom's annual financial contribution to the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur peacekeeping force budget in Sudan.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The United Kingdom’s financial contribution to the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) for UK financial year 2014/15 is £50.3m.

Sudan

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of claims made by Human Rights Watch regarding the rape of women and girls in Darfur on 30 and 31 October 2014.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: I refer the noble Baroness to the press statement I made on 13 February where I highlighted that “I am particularly concerned by the findings of the Human Rights Watch report published this week into accusations of mass rape by soldiers in Tabit, North Darfur between 30 October and 1 November 2014. These are extremely serious allegations. The report once again highlights the need for a full and open investigation into what happened and unhindered access for the African Union - United Nations Hybrid Mission in Darfur and humanitarian organisations. We continue to support the call for that investigation.”

British Overseas Territories

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to assist elected representatives in the United Kingdom Overseas Territories to carry out their duties efficiently and responsibly.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UK remains committed to promoting good governance in the Overseas Territories as set out in the July 2012 White Paper. We work closely with the elected representatives of the territories. UK Ministers and elected leaders of the Overseas Territories meet annually for the Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in London to discuss progress in improving governance and agree a Communiqué with new commitments for the coming year. In addition, UK Ministers have frequent contact with Overseas Territories throughout the year. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Cabinet Office are working with the Territories to promote the establishment and implementation of codes of conduct for ministers and elected officials including the Seven Principles of Public Life. In December 2014, all Territory governments which do not yet have codes of conduct in place committed to introducing them.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in the government of the Turks and Caicos Islands since the end of direct rule.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Since the end of 2012, the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) has been able to benefit from the previous work of the Interim Administration and the new constitution. This has given the people of TCI a democratically elected government and House of Assembly, a reformed public service, and strengthened public roles and institutions such as the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Human Rights Commission, the Integrity Commission, the Auditor General, the Complaints Commissioner and the Supervisor of Elections. TCI has demonstrated its commitments to good governance by passing or introducing key legislation across a range of issues such as public service management and public financial management. The UK continues to work with TCI to ensure that reforms in good governance are embedded for the long-term. The economy is performing well and the budget continues to deliver healthy surpluses (estimated $14 million in 2015/16). Gross domestic product (GDP) growth reached 4.6 per cent in 2014. The 2014 Joint Ministerial Council communiqué is available on our website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/overseas-territories-2014-joint-ministerial-council-communique. A copy of the communiqué is attached. 



2014 Joint Ministerial Council communique
(Word Document, 28.99 KB)

Gambia

Baroness Berridge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the situation of Ahmadi Muslims in The Gambia, particularly in the light of the statement made by the Gambian Supreme Islamic Council claiming them to be non-Muslims.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The British Government is concerned about the statement issued by the Gambian Supreme Islamic Council in January claiming that the Ahmadiyya community are not Muslims. The UK position on human rights is clear: they are universal and must apply equally to all people. This includes freedom of religion, and divergent views or interpretations should be allowed to co-exist. Our Embassy will be speaking to the Government of The Gambia about these statements and will continue to monitor developments closely.

Department of Health

Giant Cell Arteritis

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the costs to the National Health Service of failures to diagnose giant cell arteritis sufficiently early to prevent loss of vision for those afflicted, in each of the last five years.

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of people afflicted by giant cell arteritis who have lost vision as a result of a failure to diagnose the illness sufficiently early, in each of the last five years.

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the pilot clinical pathway in Southend to develop faster and more effective diagnosis of polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis.

Earl Howe: The National Institute for Heath and Care Excellence Clinical Knowledge Summary on Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA) sets out that the annual incidence of GCA in the United Kingdom is approximately 20 per 100,000 people, with total or partial vision loss affecting up to 20% of people. Numbers of patients diagnosed as suffering from GCA related sight loss in each of the last five years and its associated costs are not available.   No specific assessment has been made of the GCA clinical pathway used in Southend. However, the Government understands that Professor Bhaskar Dasgupta who developed the Southend clinical pathway, contributed to development of the Royal College of Physicians’ guideline on GCA, published in 2010. The guideline sets out best practice for clinicians in the prompt diagnosis and urgent management of GCA, helping to minimise GCA related vision loss.

Social Services: Training

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve training and development in the care sector.

Earl Howe: It is the responsibility of individual employers to ensure that staff are appropriately trained and competent to carry out the roles they are employed to provide.   The Department continues to work with Skills for Care to develop a comprehensive suite of standards and qualifications to support employers in developing the care sector workforce.   From 1 April 2015, the Department is introducing the Care Certificate for new healthcare assistants and social care support workers to enable them to receive the high quality and consistent training and support they need to do their jobs.

Cancer

Baroness Cumberlege: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what focus the NHS Five Year Forward View taskforce on cancer services, chaired by Cancer Research UK, will give to molecular diagnostics.

Baroness Cumberlege: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the NHS Five Year Forward View taskforce on cancer services will report back on their initial assessment of opportunities to improve cancer care before March 2015; and when in 2015 they will present the new five year strategy.

Earl Howe: The independent Cancer Taskforce has been set up to produce a new cross-system national cancer strategy to take us through the next five years to 2020, building on NHS England’s vision for improving cancer outcomes set out in the NHS Five Year Forward View. It has been set up in partnership with the cancer community and other health system leaders, and is chaired by the Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK.   The new strategy will set a clear direction covering the whole cancer pathway from prevention to end of life care, including molecular diagnostics. The Taskforce will produce a statement of intent this month, and the new strategy will be published in summer 2015.

Diabetes

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to improve food labelling for diabetes sufferers.

Earl Howe: I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave on 21 January 2015 to his question HL3993.

Fertility: Drugs

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 10 February (HL4441), what sanctions were imposed by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority on each of the clinics that had administered reagents to permitted gametes or permitted embryos that are then introduced into patients when the reagents concerned had not been CE marked; and how promptly the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency was notified of all such instances as documented in inspection reports.

Earl Howe: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that it has not been necessary to impose any regulatory sanctions in relation to the use of non CE marked reagents or products, as the clinics in question have given a commitment, as part of the inspection process, to use alternative CE marked products.   The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency was notified that manufacturers were making non CE marked reagents available on 4 December 2013 and 23 November 2014.

NHS England: Optum

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consider that NHS England carried out appropriate due diligence in giving preferred contractor status to the company Optum.

Earl Howe: On 5 February 2015 NHS England announced the results of the Commissioning Support Lead Provider Framework. This framework agreement does not give Optum preferred provider status, but allows clinical commissioning groups and NHS England to run open competitions between accredited providers to source excellent and affordable commissioning support services.   NHS England has assured the Department that it carried out appropriate due diligence in regard to Optum Health Solutions UK being appointed as a provider on the Commissioning Support Lead Provider Framework.   As well as rigorously testing quality and value for money, NHS England ran a 12 month European Union compliant procurement process and carried out the necessary legal and financial checks, before appointing Optum Health Solutions UK as one of the providers on the Commissioning Support Lead Provider Framework.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Ukraine

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will propose that the European Union removes all customs duties on Ukrainian exports, and provides technical assistance to Ukrainian companies wishing to enter the European market.

Lord Livingston of Parkhead: Ukraine already benefits from autonomous trade preferences which enable most Ukrainian goods to enter the EU market free from import tariffs. In April 2014, the EU unilaterally eliminated or reduced its customs duties on goods originating from Ukraine; for instance, EU import tariffs were removed immediately for 94.7% of industrial products from Ukraine. These autonomous trade preferences have now been extended, so that they will apply for 2015, after which the EU-Ukraine Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) is due to be applied. Under the terms of the DCFTA, 98.1% of the value Ukrainian exports to the EU will become tariff-free. The UK has given its full support for these measures. The EU is providing significant financial and technical assistance to support Ukraine, including help with economic reform and political stabilisation. In addition to our £4.35 million share of these EU and other multilateral efforts. The UK has also committed a further £1.4 million bilaterally this financial year for humanitarian support in Ukraine. On 23 February, the Prime Minister announced that the UK will release £15 million in emergency assistance for Ukraine. Furthermore, UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and the British Embassy in Kyiv continue to work closely with the Ukrainian government across a broad range of issues to improve our trade and business links.